A DEVICE FOR COLOUR PHOTOGRAPH PRINTING

Abstract: A device for printing colour photographs, comprising a light source (1) generating a light beam which crosses a negative support (2) bearing a photographic image to be printed, and a lens (3) which focalizes the image, after said image has passed through the support (2), on photosensitive paper of a known chromatic sensitivity, wherein at the point of image inversion a circular filter (5) is arranged exhibiting coloured segments of equal size; said filter (5) being disposed perpendicularly to the lens optical axis, and having an axis which is dealigned in relation to the optical axis, a resulting interaxis being adjustable.

Description: Description. A Device for Colour Photograph Printing. Technical Field The invention relates to a device for colour photograph printing. One of the most widespread processes for printing colour photographic images envisages that a negative or slide bearing the image to be printed be passed through by a light beam which has itself already passed through colour filters so that the beam contains predetermined primary colours which are subsequently focalized by a lens onto photosensitive paper of known type. The particular colour percentage sensitivity of the paper depends on the kind of paper used: some are sensitive to red, green and blue (used in additive synthesis), others to yellow, magenta and cyan (used in subtractive synthesis). The actual percentage of sentitivity can vary within a range of similar paper: for example, it might be 30% red, 25% green and 45% blue. The light beam is first prepared vis a vis the colours desired and the appropriate filters selected, and after it has crossed the film or slide, reaches the paper. Chromatic relationships must be extremely precise in order to obtain a faithful and exact colour reproduction on the paper. Background Art. In known-type processes the light beam colour percentages reaching the paper are greatly influenced by the type of negative support used and the exposure quality of the image contained on it: the light beam is in fact strongly chromatically and densitometrically affected by the type of support, so that results can vary greatly. This problem is at present resolved by providing a considerable number of colour filters to filter the light coming from the source before it reaches the negative support. The drawback with this process is that for each type of negative support suitable filters are required and have to be painstakingly selected. In modern enlargers the selection of the correct filters from the set mounted on the enlargers is made by analyzing the beam after said filters have been selected, which is usually done automatically, and making a final choice after some test runs of this nature. Amateur photographers, however, usually possess non-automatic devices and thus have to try out several different filter combinations before obtaining a satisfactory result. A principal aim of the present invention is to obviate the above drawbacks by providing a device which permits of obtaining a light beam having a chromatic composition that is not influenced by the quality and type of negative support bearing the image to be developed. An advantage of the device is that it obtains the desired result while remaining very simple and economical. Disclosure of Invention. The aims and advantages are achieved by the device of the invention, as it is characterized in the claims that follow, which comprises a light source generating a beam which crosses a negative support bearing a photographic image to be printed, and which focalizes the image on to photosensitive paper of a known chromatic sensitivity, wherein at the point of image inversion a circular filter exhibiting coloured segments of equal area is disposed perpendicularly to the lens optical axis, said filter having a dealigned axis in relation to the optical axis, with an interaxis between the two axes being adjustable. Further characteristics and advantages of the present invention will better emerge from the detailed description that follows, of a preferred but non-exclusive embodiment here illustrated in the form of a non-limiting example in the accompanying drawings, in which: figure 1 shows a diagram of the device of the invention; figure 2 shows an enlarged schematic view of the filter of the device. The device comprises a light source 1 constituted, for example, by a normal light bulb such as those present in all devices of this type. The light source 1 generates a beam which crosses a support 2, for example a negative, bearing the image to be printed. The device further comprises a known-type lens, schematically denoted by 3, by means of which the light, having crossed the support 2, is focused on photosensitive paper . A filter 5 is arranged at the image inversion point, which filter 5 is subdivided into a number of equal segments of different colours, which number will correspond to a number of primary colour sensitivities of the paper 4 used: if, for example, the paper 4 is sensitive to red, green and blue, the filter 5 will exhibit three colour segments of the same colours. The entire light beam, having passed through the support 2, passes through the image inversion zone, or the zones immediately before and after it: in other words, there occurs a complete superposition of chromatic images determined by the passage of the light beam through the support 2. Further, it has been observed that at this zone, even when a part of the passing beam is obscured, there is still a complete passage of the image through the part of the beam which is not obscured: thus, the whole image will pass through each of the filter zones, and downstream of the filter there will be three full images, each in a desired primary colour. The filter 5 must be able to create an output beam having the same chromatic percentages as the photosensitive paper 4: if, for example, the paper 4 is 30% sensitive to red, 35% to green and 45% to blue, the filter 5 must be able to reproduce exactly those percentages. One possible and extremely simple embodiment of the filter is illustrated in figure 2. The filter 5 is circular and exhibits a number of segments 5a, 5b and 5c, each of which is in a primary colour and is equal in size to the other segments. The filter 5 is disposed perpendicularly to the optical axis 7 and its axis is dealigned in relation to the optical axis, with an adjustable interaxis. Thus, according to how the filter 5 is dealigned with respect to the optical axis, each coloured sector will be more or less invested by the beam, and it will be possible to reproduce colour percentages which perfectly correspond to the sensitivity percentages of the paper 4. This is different to prior art teachings, where the filters, disposed between the light source 1 and the support 2 have to be adapted on each occasion to the type of support 2. In the device of the invention, the filter can be positioned and not only receives all of the image on each of the coloured zones and provides three images in the desired colours, but also provides a beam having a chromatic composition which is independent of the type of support used and which chromatic percentages can be varied, by means of a very simple process, in accordance with the type of photosensitive paper 4 used.

Claims: Claims . 1. A device for printing colour photographs, comprising a light source (1) generating at least one light beam which crosses a negative support (2) bearing a photographic image to be printed, and also comprising a lens (3) which focalizes the image, after said light beam has passed through the support (2), on photosensitive paper of a known chromatic sensitivity; characterized in that it further comprises a filter (5), disposed at a point along the light beam at which an inversion of the image takes place, and exhibiting a number of coloured segments, which number corresponds to a number of colours to which the photosensitive paper (4) is sensitive; wherein the filter (5) is conformed such that each of said segments is coloured in a primary colour and exhibits a surface area being a percentage of a totality area of a sum of said coloured segments which percentage is equal to a percentage of a total colour sensitivity of the photosensitive paper (4) sensitive to the same primary colour. 2. A device as in claim 1, characterized in that the filter (5) is circular and exhibits circular segments (5a, 5b, 5c) constituting said coloured segments and having equal areas; said filter (5) being disposed perpendicularly to an optical axis of a lens (3) and said filter (5) having a dealigned axis with respect to an optical axis, a resulting interaxis between the filter dealigned axis and the optical axis being adjustable.

Inventors: ZOGGIA ANTONIO, ZOGGIA, ANTONIO
Applicants: INGENIA SRL, ZOGGIA ANTONIO, INGENIA S.R.L., ZOGGIA, ANTONIO
Application year: 1994
Main classification: G03B27
IPC codes: G03B11, G03B27